Sanchez Still Has Touch for Drama
As a player, Hugo Sanchez had a flair for the dramatic. The Mexican legend is a coach now but not much has changed.
His team, UNAM Pumas, scored two late goals Sunday for a 3-2 victory over Toluca. The victory moved Pumas into a tie with Tigres of Nuevo Leon atop the overall standings with 21 points apiece in Mexico’s Apertura championship.
Tigres leads Group 2 by seven points over Morelia. Pumas has a one-point lead in Group 3 over UAG Tecos.
Tigres, which tied Cruz Azul, 1-1, on Saturday, has played only 10 games, compared to 11 for Pumas.
Pumas trailed, 2-1, then took advantage of a red card to Toluca’s Israel Lopez, which left Toluca a man short, by getting goals from Jaime Lozano in the 85th minute and Ismael Iniguez in the 87th minute. Joaquin Beltran scored the first goal for Pumas in the 50th minute.
In other key games:
* Club America continued its resurgence with a 5-0 victory over Jaguares Chiapas. Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Argentine Hugo Castillo scored two goals each and German Villa scored once. America was winless in its first five games but now has a seven-game unbeaten streak.
* Tecos remained among the leaders with a 1-0 victory over Morelia, getting a goal from Eliomar Marcon of Brazil in the 37th minute.
* Irapuato, once the surprise team of the championship, continued its free fall with a 3-1 home loss to Necaxa, which leads Group 4 with 20 points. Victor Ruiz, Gamadiel Garcia and Alfredo Moreno scored over a 20-minute span. Irapuato has lost four of its last six, including a tie.
European Roundup
Most of the big names remained in front in European leagues after the weekend’s games.
In England, Arsenal maintained its one-point lead over Manchester United and Chelsea after its 2-1 victory over Liverpool, getting the winner from Robert Pires after the benefit of an own goal.
Manchester United scored an easy 3-0 victory over Birmingham, and Chelsea kept its unbeaten record intact (6-0-1) after a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough. Hernan Crespo of Argentina gave Chelsea the victory with an 88th-minute goal.
In Italy, European champion AC Milan stayed in first place with Juventus -- both teams are 4-0-1 -- after a 3-1 victory over Inter Milan on goals by Filippo Inzaghi, Kaka and Andriy Shevchenko.
Juventus needed a penalty kick from David Trezeguet to defeat Bologna, 2-1.
Valencia stayed a point ahead of Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league after a 1-0 victory over Barcelona on a goal by Ricardo Oliveira. Deportivo routed Atletico de Madrid, 5-1, to keep pace.
Star-studded Real Madrid remained three points behind Valencia in third place after a 2-1 victory over Espanyol on goals by Ronaldo.
Real Madrid’s David Beckham was injured for the second consecutive weekend -- this time a bruised leg -- but he said he would play in England’s crucial Euro 2004 qualifying match at Turkey on Saturday.
In Germany, Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen both won at home to stay atop the Bundesliga.
Bremen outscored Wolfsburg, 5-3, getting two goals from Brazil’s Ailton. Leverkusen beat Hansa Rostock, 3-0.
A 0-0 tie with Cologne gave VfB Stuttgart (5-0-3) the Bundesliga record for minutes without giving up a goal. The tie pushed Stuttgart’s streak to 825 minutes, breaking the mark of 802 set by Bayern Munich.
Honda Award
The Honda Award, given annually to the top U.S. male soccer player, will be announced today at a luncheon in Los Angeles. The finalists are Carlos Bocanegra, Brian McBride and Landon Donovan, who won last year.
Times wire services contributed to this report.
